Into the Shadows
by eaglefly11
Summary: The story of Gale's younger sister Jenna and what happened to her. Starts before the books and could progress through them.
1. Chapter 1

First Hunt I had been up for hours when Gale came in to wake me up. How could I sleep? I was so excited. Today was the day Gale was finally going to take me hunting. "Jenna are you up?" Gale said as he came in. I shot up from my bed. "Up and ready," I replied. He just smiled and laughed since I was already dressed. I was ready for today. Downstairs we grabbed a quick breakfast then ran outside. We got outside just as the sun was coming out. Gale looked up as if he was judging the sky. "Gonna be a nice morning for hunting." He looked back at me and I just smiled. I had been waiting for this day since I was five. Gale always told me no when I asked to go with him. He said I was too young and I would go with him when I was old enough. But he never told me when that would be. Until yesterday, the day before my tenth birthday, after dinner he came over to me and smiled. My brother always smiled when he knew something that I didn't, just because it bugged me so much. Then he said, "How about tomorrow we go hunting in the morning?" I looked back at him with a questioning look and he nodded. Finally! We walked silently to the fence. It was supposed to be electric but they never had the power on way out here, in the Seam. Gale helped me through quickly by showing the easiest space to get through, and we made a dash for the tree line. When we had finally reached the trees I took a deep breath and the fresh forest air made me feel so alive. He signaled be to keep quite. Earlier today he had told me not to talk when we got outside the fence until he had told me it was alright. We continued to walk for a while and the forest was amazing, everything so much more interesting close up. After a while, Gale stopped and looked around for something. He finally spotted whatever it was and headed that way, me following in suit. He stopped at a log and pulled out his bow, but also something covered in bark. "Happy birthday" he said as he handed it to me. I took off the bark and there it was. A bow, just for me. It was a little big for me now but it was supposed to last me a while, and I was growing quick. "Thank you so much!" I exclaimed and ran to hug him, almost tripping over a root. He chuckled as he said, "Be careful now, you haven't gotten your forest feet yet. At home you might be fine but it is a lot different out here," with that in mind we sat down on the log and his face grew worrisome. With a more serious tone he told me, "You need to keep your eyes wide open out here, it's very dangerous, we're not even supposed to be here." " I know..." he interrupted me before I could finish. "No you don't know but you will soon enough. You really have to understand how dangerous it is out here. There is so much you don't know about. I have to warn you about very important things others you'll learn on your own, so listen carefully. Now some strange things have been happening out here so if you see anything out of the normal or anything even remotely suspicious you need to hide okay?" This made me think, strange things? Like what? The curiosity got the best of me. "What do you mean strange things, aren't there a lot of strange things that happen within the forest?" "You know what I mean, unusual things." I gave him a questioning glance and with it he answered my question. "I can see that you're not gonna leave it alone until you get an answer so I might as well tell you now instead of later." He paused for a few moments, he knew me too well, and then with a sigh continued, "I've seen a few Capital hovercrafts out here before and it is very important that you don't let them seem you understand? As soon as you see them you hide and don't leave you're spot until you're positive they are gone." I nod my head. "And I have to be able to see you at all times, the outside is huge and you don't know your way around and would get lost." "Alright" I replied. "But will I ever be able to hunt alone?" Gale thought for a moment before replying. "In time." In time, the phrase he used all the time for telling me maybe someday, but not for quite a long time. With that out of the way he stood back up. "Now are you ready for your first bow lesson?" He mood lightened and a smile wiped across his face with these words. I look at him with eager eyes. "Couldn't be more ready." 


	2. Chapter 2

He brought me to a tree for a few test runs on my new bow. It felt amazing. I felt strong for one of the first times in my life. We had gone through numerous test runs when I saw it. The rabbit. I looked towards Gale with a questioning look, but being my brother he understood and gave me the thumbs up. We followed it until it stopped. I readied my bow. With Gale right behind me I remember what he had told me earlier, when we had been practicing on a tree. I raise the bow, already having the arrow knocked. I pull back and I can see Gale observing me, just like him, I thought. I get my focus back. Aiming down the shaft, I see the furry little creature. Now, almost silently, Gale whispers, "Right now aim for the head, it's the part that no one uses in cooking." With that in mind I aim right for the small head about thirty yards away. I take a deep breath and let the arrow go, sitting for a moment. Gale helps me stand up we both look down to where I had just shot. We see an arrow but as we head closer to retrieve it I saw it. I had hit it, right where I aimed too! Gale smiles and head over to it making sure it's dead. Sure enough it is. "Hole in one!" Gale says jokingly, along with, " Nice shot, you're a real natural at this." He cleans of the rabbit, and puts it on his belt, handing me my cleaned arrow as we start walking again. "One more and we can have Rabbit stew for your birthday, your favorite." I smiled at that, it really was my favorite. But then a though occurred to me. "Oh," I said "aren't you supposed to hunt with Katniss. She would be out here at any moment." "I told her I was bringing you hunting today, she was fine with it. I'm gonna go hunting with her tomorrow." Gale told me. Well at least she was ok with it I thought. "We caught a doe yesterday and I told her to keep it because I wanted it to be just you and me today." "A doe? Wow. I just didn't want her and her family to go hungry." "No need to worry. They're set for a bit. I was thinking I would take you with me once a week for practice. Sometimes with Katniss if you don't mind. She doesn't mind and she thought it would be a good idea." Hunting with Gale and Katniss. Sounded great. I could get a lot of pointers to get better quicker. "Yeah sounds good." I confirm it with Gale. He smiles. We find another good spot to look around, and Gale spots another rabbit. Gale takes this one quickly, much faster than me. But he has had a lot more practice. With that we head back through the forest. It's time to head home. The forest is a bright green, since its early summer. July 4th to be exact. I've heard that it was the day the ancestors of ours declared independence, but it doesn't even matter anymore. It always comes back in my mind around my birthday. No hunger games and no Capital telling us what we can and can't do. Gale breaks my train of thought, when we reach the log. He takes my bow and his and puts them back in the log. I pay close attention to how he hides them, careful to make sure that they are completely covered. "I was thinking next time we would focus more on gathering plants." Gale says as he turns to me. "Sounds good." And with that we head back into district 12 with our two rabbits. When we get home my mother smothers me in a hug. "I was so worried, you hunting oh you nearly gave me a heart attack, I forgot you were going with Gale, I thought you were gone when I went to wake you up and you weren't there." "Mom, I fine although I might not be if you don't let me breathe." I respond wheezily. My mom lets go quickly and sighs with relief, "Sorry but don't scare me again, leave a note or something." Gale smiles and walk over to the kitchen table and holds up a note reading it mockingly in our mom's voice. "Mom, me and Jenna are out hunting. See you later. Gale." Mom completely ignores what he had just said and sees the two rabbits on his belt. "Rabbits? Looks like we are going to have rabbit stew for your birthday sweetie." She takes the rabbits from Gale and starts to ready them for later today. "Did you catch anything Jenna?" I look at Gale who nods his head. "Yeah" that all I said. But Gale goes on about it. "It was the first animal we saw today and she got it, it's that one right there," pointing to the one to her right. "Wow nice Jenna." And that's all we heard from my mother on the subject. She wasn't very excited about me going hunting, but Gale had talked her into it, telling her that it would be good for me. Throughout the day people stop by wishing happy birthdays to me. Other than that the day was nothing special. Just the regular: chores and errands. I get a little free time to write, and I savor every minute of it. It's my release. Anything, that's the limit when I write. They are mostly stories of freedom though, I already have three notebooks, more than anyone I know. I get them from Gale and on my birthdays when affordable from the Black market. My stories I hope are close to something within the future of Panem. The capitol being taken down, its not hard to see the hatred toward them and their games, so I keep them hidden, away from the eyes of the capitol. We have dinner and tell stories. Everyone seems on edge. Now it just seems difficult to enjoy things, with the reaping just a few days away. We get to bed, but it starts to rain. I head to the window unable to sleep. I love watching rain, just soothing somehow I guess. I start to think. Gale is in so many times, what if he gets picked? I hear something and I see its Gale coming over. He can tell I'm worrying about him, I always do. "It's gonna be alright. It's no different from any other year. I've made it this far, right?" I nod my head and decide to just let the subject die. It's not really worth it. At least he can't know that I'll continue to worry about it in my mind. There is nothing that we can really do about it. But I still worry. What if we know them? What if it's the Everdeen family? Does it matter to worry? Can we help it? But there isn't a thing we can do. We are powerless in these decisions. The day of the reaping goes as fast as it comes. We are safe for another year. Free from the burden of the games. But unfortunately for Harley Johnson and Alice Logold they're not. I wince at the thought of Alice in the games. She was a good friend. After the reaping Gale comes and gives me a hug knowing the despair in my heart is setting in. She's thirteen. I keep telling myself she will make it. But reality sets in when less than three weeks later when a career takes her. The forest is one place that lets me think whether or not Gale and Katniss are there. I go more frequently for a while because Gale realizes how it helps me. But a month later we are back to regular schedules. All I know is the forest helps and it makes me relax. The longer in the forest I am the more powerful I feel I become. One question is always on my mind now. Are we really powerless? Note: So this is my first fanfic and I wasn't sure about posting it, so let me know what you think and any suggestions and helpful criticism would be greatly appreciated! The idea for this just popped in my head one day so I thought why not? Let me know what you think! 


	3. Chapter 3

A year passes and I grow stronger in the forest. Even Katniss says I have a real knack for shooting. Lately Katniss has been teaching me about aim. Since she always hits her target in the eye, I'm getting better, but nowhere near as good as she is. I know so much more about which plants are edible and which never to eat. Gale says maybe I can even go alone sooner than he thought. This made me much happier, but then I realized he probably thought I would be twenty before he let me go alone. He and Katniss laughed when I said that aloud. It was quiet while we were walking, it seemed that we had walked a much longer distance than normal, but I went into one of my thinking space-outs so who knows. That's when Gale broke the silence. "We have a surprise for you Jenna." "A surprise? What kind of surprise is walking?" I said trying to lighten the mood a little, they seemed a little worried, but that was understandable just days before the reaping again. "No, a surprise for your eleventh birthday Jenna." Katniss said to me with a mostly real smile. "It's just a few more minutes ahead." When we get there I realize why it's such a surprise. A lake with a tiny cabin, smaller than our house, and a strawberry patch, it was beautiful. The mockingjays sang loudly and beautifully. Katniss saw my reaction and my wonderment. "My dad used to take me here. It was just a place to relax. Thought you might want to see it." "It's amazing" I said. It truly was, I wanted to stay here forever. We stay for about an hour but it feels like just minutes when we have to leave, having already caught three rabbits and a squirrel. It was a productive day. We also caught a doe, but decided to stash that for another day. If we had too much people might become suspicious. When we got back into the district I say to Katniss, "Why don't you and your family come over for rabbit stew tonight? We have three rabbits." Katniss thinks about but before she answers I add, "Please?" "Sure" Katniss answers my question with a small chuckle and we head home. The Everdeens come over to have dinner and there is small talk, and stories. They don't stay long after because it took longer than expected for the stew to finish cooking. We say goodbye and see you soon to the Everdeen family and decide to go to bed early, it had been an exhausting day. Before we lay down for bed Gale comes over to me and says, "You know you're quite clever for your age. Don't let anyone change that." And with that he goes to bed. Strange, I thought to myself, what a random comment. While I was lying in bed a memory from last year came back to me. It was something that Gale had said to me while we were out hunting. I've seen a few Capital hovercrafts out here before and you can't let them seem you understand? Capital hovercrafts? I have never seen one, not even above our district. Why would he tell me to be careful if I've never seen one? How would I know what they even look like? Then a real thought occurred to me. What would capital hovercrafts be doing way out there? We go on the side that leads to nowhere. Not between two districts. But between District twelve and nothing. Why would they be out here? What are they looking for? What are they checking on? Questions raced through my mind. What was the Capital doing? This was a question I was going to find the answer to. I couldn't tell Gale. No, he couldn't know, he would try to stop me. Something that won't be done. But one thing was for sure, the Capital was up to something and I was going to find out what that was, by myself, I wasn't going to be powerless anymore. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX My stories are growing. Longer and longer everyday. Not much else to do in the winter, especially with the weather as bad as it is this year. We've had to cancel quite a few hunting trips because it was hard to walk to more than 20 feet outside. so I write and my mind continues to endlessly wander and ponder on the capitols activities. My family sees me writing, but never bothers me, they know I like to keep what I write to myself . Every once in a while, I catch Gale trying to sneak a look, but he'll never admit it. Always joking around. I can tell his curiosity pushes him to, but he knows better than to try for too long. On my last notebook I worry what will happen when it becomes full. They are most certainly not cheap, but I need somewhere to release my feelings. Gale can tell what im thinking, or its just coincidence, because when he comes back from our little cubbie closet he is holding another in his hands. He smiles as he hands it to me and says, ''Looks like you might need a little more room for your ideas." "Thank you!" I give him a huge hug, knowing that it must have cost him at least a squirrel. These were quite rare. "Just never lose your clever, active mind" he said smiling. There is was again. that word. Clever. He always seemed to call me that. Rest assured I would make it a priority to make sure that my mind never changed. As long as I focused on my goal it would stay the same. Although I hadn't made progress I was going to. Whatever the capital was up to, they couldn't keep it a secret forever. 


	4. Chapter 4

Summer rolls back around and still I haven't a clue what the capital is up to. Never even seen a hovercraft. Was Gale tricking me to stay with him longer? No, he wouldn't have said it so seriously, or tried to hide it from me.

Thoughts about the capitol never left my head. I looked to Gale as we entered the forest. Clever. The word I choose to live by now. Ever since Gale said I was. I would need to be clever in order to ever figure out what the capitol was doing.

We got our bows and Gale handed me mine with a large sigh. What was up? "Gale, what's wrong?" I never got bored with questions.

"Nothing," he said handing me my bow. We walked over to a field. Gale searched and surveyed the field for ten minutes. "Ok, now , you can go over to the forest on the other side of this clearing and hunt, I want you in shouting distance, ok?, and if anything is wrong I'll be right there just stay where you are." I could tell Gale wasn't thrilled about the idea but it had to happen sometime, and I was getting stronger and he let me wander more and more away from him daily. I looked back as I started across the field, Gale was always so worried.

I had to say something to ease his mind. "Don't worry I had a good teacher, and I'm clever remember?" He smiled and it had obviously helped.

On the other side of the meadow, about ten yards from the tree line, I spotted a doe. Out early this season I thought to myself. I slowly started to make my way to cover remembering Gale's lesson of never shooting from an open area. Too risky. That was when the wind picked up. Too lengthy and powerful for a forest gust.

It started to get dark, I looked back at Gale and saw his worried eyes hiding and him screaming a barely audible "RUN!" I looked up and in the sky was a huge capitol hovercraft and I was standing with no cover. I sprinted for the forest but it had already seen me. Its eyes glaring at me. I ran as fast as I could and as far as I could. This isn't it I told myself. The capitol won't get you, they won't.

As I ran I remembered every time I was in the forest and with every memory felt more powerful and ran faster. After sprinting about two miles the hovercraft still followed me. Not chancing losing a moving target. That was when I did the craziest thing in my life.

I turned abruptly and fired an arrow right at the craft. It hit and stuck and with that I kept running. I couldn't hear it after running for quite some time. Had it been enough? I slowed and turned around to check. I had finally lost it. Whether it had stopped out of pure shock or I actually caused damage it didn't matter. It was gone. I fell over exhausted, physically and mentally. When I finally had the strength to stand up again, I looked around.

This was something I never expected. How far had I run? How did I get here? Could I run back? Nope, no sign of which way I came from. I was stuck. Where was I?

** GALE POV**

She left and walked into the field and I had never felt so proud and nervous. My little sister, I knew she was ready for this. But its amazing how fast those feeling can be ripped away from you.

I felt the hovercraft before it came, the wind wasn't gentle enough for it to be anything else. It was then that I saw the hovercraft of the capitol. I had no feelings. She couldn't beat a hovercraft, it had already seen her. She ran franticly and scared into the other forest. And with her went all feeling. My heart had dropped into my stomach. My breath had vanished and my head felt heavier than a truck. She was in the forest before I could grasp a thought. One thought, I would never see her again.

She was gone, and I was numb. All I could think was I hope clever is enough. A sickening thought. How could I _ever_ think that? I ran out into the meadow screaming. Although the hovercraft was growing smaller and smaller. Not far into the forest on the other side I had lost it. She was so much faster than I was. Nimble too. I would never be able to catch up, I wasn't fast enough. Still I pushed on. I only stopped when I realized there was nothing that I could do. She was gone. Never again would my little sister be hunting with me. Once the capitol wanted somebody they got them, or made sure they were never seen again.

Little Jenna was clever, I knew she would live. But how and where was a mystery. Only to be known by few people. I couldn't handle the idea that she would be captured. No, I pushed that thought out of my head. I was not going to do that to my sister.

Once I made the long, devastating walk back to the log, despair filled my chest. I fell to the ground with a feeling of being punched. It took over me, and three words haunted my mind over and over again. She was gone. My chest grew heavier and heavier as my vision became blurry. Guilt was torturing me. I sat there thinking of my sister. I couldn't live like this. I was the reason she was gone. I knew I should have waited longer she seemed so ready though. I was eager for her to be ready to.

How would my mother react? She would know something happened as soon as I set foot in the door. It was growing dark, I had sat there all day, even though it felt like nothing, like not a minute should have passed, and I knew that I had to get home. Bow hidden, I made my way back to district 12.

As soon as I am back inside the fence, I slow my pace. Anything but eager to return home. I step inside the door back at the house, and my mother sees my expression, knowing something had happened. "Is everything ok?" She questioned me in a tone I couldn't handle. Too nice, but then again she hadn't known what I had done. She didn't even have to ask. She knew. "What happened Gale, you can tell me, where is your sister?" Her words stung like knives. I shook my head as the tears began to fall.

I could barely croak out, "It's all my fault." My mother quickly sat me down and pulled up a chair next to me. Half comforting me, half pushing me to tell her what happened. But all that could come out was disconnected, and pushed through my tears.

"I thought she was ready... I didn't know it was there... I'm so sorry... Its all my fault." Her eyes started to water.

"What happened? Its okay, what didn't you know? Ready for what?" Her questions just worsen my guilt. She didn't know, and it was most certainly not ok.

The next words I forced out of my mouth, and as I did they felt like fire and poison rolling off my tongue. "I thought she was ready." I say again and pause to gather myself as I continue, but it is useless. "To hunt alone, she had done so well." I pause again. Then it all comes at once. Word vomit. "The hovercraft, it came and I didn't know what to do she was already over on the other side of the meadow. It saw her and she ran before I could do anything. I don't know where she is or what happened. All I know is that it followed her into the forest."

Her expression fell. Her voice grew hoarse as she asked a last question. "A capitol hovercraft?" All I could do was nod. Tears started streaming down her face. "Well theres a little dinner left on the counter, why don't you eat and then head up to bed. I'll be in the study if you need me." Her voice broke as she spoke. She left the room and my head fell to the table like a brick. I couldn't eat. My stomach was in knots, and any food I put in it I was positive wouldn't stay.

I sat there drowning in my thoughts as the minutes that passed by seemed to be hours. Unable to escape flood that I had created. As I head upstairs I hear the thunder power over the sky. It was like the world knew what had happened and reflected my mood.

I stopped dead before I passed her room. I make my way to her doorway and stood in it, looking into her room. My eyes wander all over and I find myself walking in and sitting on her bed. Never had I felt something like this. The grief and guilt was gone, the tears still streamed down but a completely new feeling had settled in.

A feeling of emptiness, of nothing, a numbness worse than anything that I had felt ever. An acceptance that she was gone. The rain grows louder and louder and I go to her little window seat. She loved watching the rain, thunder storms even more. It never made sense to me. But now, it was the only thing that did. I couldn't tell you how long I sat here. Other than it had to be a while.

I look at the wall opposite of me and something didn't look right. At first I wasn't sure if it was just blurry vision or reality, but the more I looked at the wall the more I knew that there was something wrong with it. I put my hand up and pushed and the wood board came loose. I pulled it out, confusion flooding my brain. As I set it on the floor I take a glance at the inside of the wall. I can't believe it. Her notebooks. All four of them sit there and all I can do is just look at them. A piece of her was still here.

Within these books were her ideas, even if they were stories, they were from her. I take them from the wall and replace the board. There were a few small other things in there, but nothing that mattered to me. With the notebooks in hand I returned to her bed and sat down. I found the first one I gave to her. It was easy to spot because it was the most aged and a little seared on the side from her sitting a little too close to the fire one evening while writing. I open it and flip through the pages. All her stories.

I flip through the others until I get to the newest one I gave her. Its completely empty except for the first page. On the top of the first page there is one word written and it makes my heart drop.

_**Clever**_

One little word has so much power. It came from me. It meant something to her. With this I laid down in her bed with a new sadness welling up in me. I felt the tears coming again and force myself to sleep. Although my sleep is not much better. My dreams, no more like nightmares, just make the wound inside of me worse. She is there.

I come home and she's there. Smiling and greeting me with a warm hug. Mom walks into the kitchen with the biggest smile on her face. Everything is normal again. Its a bright sunny day and I can hear the birds chirping. We sit down for a picnic in an old park, that now, in reality, is abandoned. Its beautiful, with flowers growing all around, and their aromas fill the air with pleasant smells. We eat, and laugh, and tell stories about how great everything will be. But suddenly, without warning everything changes. The skies are no longer spotless, but overrun with dark, heavy grey/black clouds. Everything is now dark. I hear two word escape her quiet mouth, "I'm scared." I try to say everything's ok and its going to be alright but I can't make my voice work. The gusts of wind grow stronger and stronger. A twister comes down. And she is swept away, gone. I hear my mom screaming and crying for her, and I'm not longer in my body, but outside, observing. I watch myself as my body convulses with anger and sadness for my sister. And as the twister fades away, the whole picture begins to fade. Blurring itself until my eyes open and I find my self awake, still in her room.

I shot up into a sitting position, trying to recover my breath and feel the water welling within my eyes start to leak out, yet again. I lay back down and just remain there, still. Grieving for my sister. Silently.

I spend all of the next day in the forest hidden from district life. I brought her stories with me to read, to get to know the side of her no one knew.

No one can know what happened. It wouldn't go well. As much hatred as I had for the capitol this wasn't a reason for other people to go. They would be angry, for sure. But I couldn't let anyone else suffer because of me.

I read her stories, I never realized how amazing of a writer she actually was. Her stories. I never know she felt this way. Her hatred for the capitol obviously expressed. Her stories, what is was to be free. A life that anyone and everyone would wish for. No worries, no capitol that wishes to control our every moves.

This was what she wrote. This is what I was going to stand for. I then knew my life was dedicated to her, to ending the long reign of a capitol that forced kids into the arena, that glorified the Hunger Games. I realized what I had to do.

It was going to be hard for sure. But I had to clear my life of her and memories of her. For her own safety. If she is fine and safe people can't know, she would only be brought back and tortured at the capitol. Being outside the fence was one thing, running and resisting was another.

If she is fine she has to find a new way to live. And this I did for her. Knowing if she was safe, someway, somehow, I would see her. I took out a picture of was a simpler time in that picture. When we didn't have to worry about anything.

I was dedicated to her cause, but still her thoughts in my head made me feel sick. I would carry on in her mission, but not with memories of her. It was the first step. It was my favorite picture. Us smiling, happy. I close my eyes as I ball it up and leave in the forest as I head back home. It will be hard, erasing her, but it must be done, and anyways the first step is already taken, and I would carry on her mission, alone.

**Note: Just so you know the first few chapters were just explaining a few things because I thought it would be a little hard to pick up the story without a little background. So there you are, now Gale has a pretty good reason for hating the capitol. Let me know what you think! Reviews, suggestions, anything!**


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